Totem and Taboo

Author: Freud
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-02-01
Features: The core and essence of taboos, totems, and religion in primitive tribal societies have long been a subject of controversy. This book represents the author's groundbreaking contribution to solving these perplexing mysteries. The author examines the totemic worship of Australian Aboriginals and argues that: violating totemic taboos is considered the greatest sin in primitive societies; totems are passed down from generation to generation without changing due to marriage. While analyzing group marriage and exogamy, he discovers a highly research-worthy and fascinating phenomenon—their strict prevention of incest. Through an in-depth analysis of taboos and the conflicting emotions they conceal, the author concludes that taboos possess the following characteristics:
1. Results from mana attaching to a person or object in a natural or direct manner.
2. Results from mana affecting a person or object indirectly or through transmission.
3. Both of the above methods coexist.
After conducting a thorough research and analysis of the practice of animism, the author finds that primitive peoples, in the process of performing rituals, clearly reveal an intention: attempting to manipulate real things by controlling the laws of psychological effects. Therefore, he believes that human explanations of nature are shaped by psychological factors. Building on the research of other scholars on the origins of totemic worship, he gradually unravels the mystery of totemism using the main methods of psychoanalysis.